Saving your own seeds
Saving seed is free, and over time you select plants suited to your own patch. Start with open-pollinated (not F1 hybrid) varieties, and with the easy self-pollinating crops.
Start with the easy ones
Tomatoes, beans, peas and lettuce mostly self-pollinate, so their seed comes true to type — the best crops to learn on.
Harvest and dry
Let the fruit or pod fully mature on the plant. Scoop tomato seeds and ferment them in water for a few days to remove the gel, then rinse and dry. Dry all seed thoroughly on paper out of direct sun.
Store
Keep dry seed in labelled paper envelopes somewhere cool and dark. Most vegetable seed stays viable for 2–4 years.
Common questions
Why avoid F1 hybrid seed?
F1 hybrids do not come true from saved seed — the offspring vary unpredictably. Open-pollinated and heirloom varieties are the ones to save.